Man Arrested Days After Monitor Removed

MIDDLETOWN — A convicted rapist arrested inside a Wesleyan University dormitory Friday had been allowed just days before to remove an electronic bracelet that monitored his every move.

Joseph Mabery, who has a prior conviction for raping a Wesleyan student at knifepoint, had the electronic bracelet removed April 14 because he was meeting probation requirements, his probation officer said Monday. The strictures included evening curfews, sex offender counseling and weekly checks with his probation officer.

``We can't watch him any closer than we were watching him,'' said Joe DiMartino, Mabery's probation officer. ``Up until Tuesday, with some exceptions, he was doing what we asked him to do.''

Yet three days after the bracelet was removed, Mabery, 34, of 105 Lincoln St., Middletown, was found wandering around inside a locked co-ed dormitory on the Wesleyan campus about 11:15 p.m. Friday. He was charged with criminal trespass, second-degree burglary and violation of probation.

Wesleyan officials had taken extensive precautions to alert students of Mabery's return to Middletown after his release from prison last October.

The school's decision to send all students and faculty an e-mail message warning them of Mabery's whereabouts was one of the most publicized applications of Connecticut's version of Megan's Law since the measure took effect Oct. 1.

The law, named after a New Jersey girl who was murdered by a sex offender who lived in her neighborhood, requires convicted sex offenders to register with police when they move to a new residence.

Monday in court, Mabery's attorney, Public Defender Christopher James, questioned why his client was charged with burglary, which is usually applied when a person enters a building unlawfully with intent to commit a crime.

``There is nothing I see in the police report that would indicate any intent to commit a crime,'' James said. ``You can guess there was an intent and you can guess there was something else, it could be either way.''

Witnesses said Mabery appeared to have ``glassy eyes'' and described him as ``stumbling'' and ``incoherent,'' according to a police report. James said his client may have been intoxicated and not known where he was.

Wesleyan spokesman William Holder said he was not sure whether the three female students who called Wesleyan public safety officers did so because they recognized Mabery from the school bulletin or because he was unfamiliar to them.

Holder said the outside door to the Malcolm X house, where Mabery was found, was locked Friday night. Wesleyan has tightened security since the incident, Holder said, but he declined to elaborate.

Mabery had been sentenced to 21 years in prison, suspended after 11 years, and five years' probation after being convicted in 1990 of raping a Wesleyan student in her off-campus apartment on Grand Street.

Since his release from prison, Mabery has had several run-ins with the law -- including a shoplifting arrest -- that caused his probationary status to be more restrictive, DiMartino said.

He was placed on an electronic bracelet Feb. 20, after Middletown police reported seeing him intoxicated late at night in the city's North End. At the time, Mabery had a 7 p.m. curfew, DiMartino said.

``We've been practically living with the guy for the last couple of months,'' DiMartino said. ``There's only so much you can do. He knows what he can and can't do.''

Mabery was being held at the Hartford Correctional Center late Monday pending his return to court May 4.